Canada’s oil and natural gas industry supports the federal government’s budget measures to foster growth of the oil and gas industry, which ultimately benefit all Canadians.

“Balancing the budget and not raising taxes in these tough economic times when low oil prices are hurting some companies, costing jobs and reducing government revenues is clearly the right way to go,” said Tim McMillan, president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.

“We need to keep Canada an attractive place to invest in oil and gas. The fiscal regime in the federal budget supports capital investment and enables future growth,” McMillan said.

Canada’s oil and gas industry employs more than 550,000 Canadians. The industry is one of the country’s largest sources of revenue and Canada’s single-largest private investor. It paid more than $18 billion in royalties and taxes to provincial and federal governments in 2014. Capital investment in 2015 is expected to be $49 billion, highest of any sector in Canada and higher than the next two largest sectors combined.

The new tax treatment included in the budget for potential LNG export facilities enhances Canadian competitiveness and supports the continued success of natural gas producers. It recognizes the need for a globally competitive business environment and helps create a more level playing field for companies assessing potential investments.

“Along with fiscal considerations, we need to continue our country-wide focus on diversifying markets for oil and gas products and moving these products to market,” McMillan said.

“With improved transportation infrastructure, Canada can reap the benefits of helping meet global energy needs through safe, responsible development and delivery of its natural resources. We welcome the government’s commitment to enhance the safety of marine transportation, environmental protection and public engagement to help meet global energy needs,” he said.

Meeting longer term labour requirements is crucial to the oil and gas industry, which is the largest employer of skilled trades workers in Canada, “and we strongly support government measures to improve alignment among worker skills and longer term labour needs, which is crucial to our industry,” McMillan said.

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) represents companies, large and small, that explore for, develop and produce natural gas and crude oil throughout Canada. CAPP’s member companies produce about 90 per cent of Canada’s natural gas and crude oil. CAPP’s associate members provide a wide range of services that support the upstream crude oil and natural gas industry. Together CAPP’s members and associate members are an important part of a national industry with revenues of about $120 billion a year. CAPP’s mission, on behalf of the Canadian upstream oil and gas industry, is to advocate for and enable economic competitiveness and safe, environmentally and socially responsible performance.

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